James Alexander Scott

James Alexander Scott (2 December 1895 – 20 January 1983), was a British member of the Indian Police Force from 1915 to 1947.

In 1915 Scott joined the Indian Police Force. He then became attached to the 93rd Burma Infantry and completed three years of service with the Indian Army. Subsequently he was posted to the provinces of Punjab and Delhi. In October 1928, he was superintendent of police in Lahore, when the Simon Commission visited. There, he ordered the dispersal of protesters by the charging with batons, resulting in severe injuries to the Indian revolutionary Lala Lajpat Rai. Rai's death a fortnight later led to Scott becoming the target of an assassination by members of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army, and the subsequent Lahore Conspiracy Case.

Documents related to Scott, including his thoughts penciled in the margins of a copy of Alfred Draper's book titled Amritsar: The Massacre that Ended the Raj (1981), are kept in the British Library.

Early life and career James Scott was born on 2 December 1895, at Currie, Midlothian, Scotland. He attended George Heriot's School in Edinburgh. Subsequently he was posted to the provinces of Punjab and Delhi. As a result of Rai's death just over two weeks later, Scott became the target of an assassination, attempted on 17 December 1928. That day, Scott's assistant J. P. Saunders, was mistaken for Scott, and fatally shot by Shivaram Rajguru and Bhagat Singh of the Hindustan Socialist Republican Army. The subsequent Lahore Conspiracy Case led to the conversion of Hans Raj Vohra and others as approvers, and the hanging of Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev Thapar.

Awards and honours Scott's awards and honours include the CIE, OBE, the Indian Police Medal, and the King's Police Medal.

Personal and family Scott was married to Elizabeth Smith, and they had two sons, Alastair and Malcolm. He died on 20 January 1983, at the age of 88 years, and was buried at Colinton Kirk Churchyard. Part of the collection of documents on Scott held at the British Library, it reveals Scott's handwritten thoughts in the margins and parts he highlighted and underlined, including his agreement with those that believed that Reginald Dyer's action at Jallianwalla Bagh resulted in peace in the Punjab.